Checking the work of preventing illegal fishing in Quynh Phu commune

Attending the meeting with the delegation were representatives of Nghe An Fishing Port Management Board, Department of Fisheries - Fisheries Control, representative of Quynh Thuan Border Guard Station Commander and leaders of Quynh Phu commune.

At the meeting, on behalf of the working group, Mr. Tran Xuan Hoc - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment said that in order to remove the EC yellow card, the European working group (EC) has visited Vietnam to inspect and work 4 times and is expected to visit Vietnam in October. This is the last chance for Vietnam to remove the EC yellow card, and at the same time, it is the basis for transformation, bringing the fishing industry to modernity and sustainable development.

Next, the report of the People's Committee of Quynh Phu commune said: Immediately after switching to a 2-level local government, along with the consolidation of the commune-level IUU Steering Committee and support team to carry out the tasks, the commune coordinated with the Border Guard Station and Nghe An Port to organize a number of propaganda campaigns against illegal fishing according to the Fisheries Law and Decree No. 38/2024/ND-CP; coordinated to verify and handle vessels that lost VMS route monitoring signals, made a list of vessels at high risk of IUU violations; organized fishermen to sign a commitment to not violate IUU fishing. Specifically, in the first 8 months of 2025, the commune completed the file to fine 25 fishing vessels with a total amount of 543 million VND, fined 3 fishing vessels that exploited the wrong sea area with a total amount of 450 million VND; organized 95/536 fishing vessels to sign a commitment to food safety and hygiene.

In addition to the above outstanding results, in the commune, there are still 2 ships that have not activated VMS equipment; 30 ships are not qualified to operate, 17 fishing vessels are at high risk of violating IUU; some ships have burned down and been sold out of the area but have not been able to be dismantled or deregistered. By August 2025, there were still 781/151 fishing vessels that lost VMS connection...

Based on the exchange, discussion and opinions of the locality, Border Guard force and Fisheries Association, the Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment emphasized that preventing and combating IUU fishing and removing the yellow card is a political task assigned by the Central and Provincial IUU Steering Committee, so it must be carried out well.

Based on the reassessment of the existing limitations, the working group pointed out through the inspections, the Deputy Director of the Department reminded the commune to focus on managing and monitoring the fleet to limit illegal exploitation of the sea area; monitoring the fleet with high risk of IUU violations; limiting vessels over 24m from fishing without VMS connection; effectively calculating the output of aquatic products entering the port. Quynh Phu commune has a large fleet of the province and the whole country, of which, there are 173 vessels over 24m in length, so the pressure is very heavy. Therefore, during this time, the commune must focus highly and the Department will direct the establishment of support working groups to join in, remove difficulties, and have the highest determination to complete the task with the whole country and the province.

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Quynh Phu commune was established from 4 communes of Quynh Luu district before, including Thuan Long, Van Hai, Phu Nghia and An Hoa communes. The commune has 15.5 km of coastline, including Lach Thoi and Lach Quen, 47/69 villages have seafood exploitation with 901 vessels, of which 365 are vessels with a length of 15m or more for offshore fishing. The natural area is 33.48 km²and a population of over 72,000 people, of which more than 4,000 are fishermen./.